Mou to players: shape up or ship out

José Mourinho did not hold any punches on Saturday when he singled out the players who sat out last week's cup first leg against Barça. "I know why some players were tired because they played on Wednesday and worked hard. I don't know why others were tired, because on Wednesday they were on the bench or in the stands".

Mou has his reasons for losing his rag, including a trio of players who are overweight -namely Benzema, Higuaín and Marcelo. Each of the three can point to his own particular circumstances, but the fact remains that both strikers are a couple of kilos heavier than they should be, while Marcelo -who was out injured for three months- is some five kg off his optimum weight.

Then comes the contingent who have disappointed Mourinho with their attitude on the pitch, headed by Coentrao - who was as ineffective against Granada as he has been all season - and Di María, who is also failing to react the way the coach had hoped.

A particular flashpoint came near the end of the encounter, when the Argentine winger stayed down after taking a knock, leading the raging Mourinho to issue a thinly veiled jibe in his press conference: "If you are losing a game with a few minutes to go and a player picks up an injury that isn't serious, the doctors shouldn't have to come on - he should make a sacrifice and play on".